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HEATING UP THE HOLIDAYS – Play with Me Review Hop and Giveaway!

Loveswept is hosting a Heating Up the Holidays – Play with Me review hop and giveaway! Check out my review of Lisa Renee Jones’ steamy novella in case you missed it last week, read about the other stories in the anthology, and then enter to win some awesome prizes!

Review:

I haven’t read anything by Lisa Renee Jones before, so I was eager to start Play with Me. From the first sentence I was sucked into the story. I loved Kali’s voice. She’s a no nonsense young woman who knows what she wants, and she’s not afraid to work to achieve her goals. After suffering a major setback in her plan to reboot her life, she takes a temporary position as Damion’s personal assistant. She quickly discovers that he’s a beast to work for. An attractive beast, but a beast none the less! Relying on a strong sense of self, though, she quickly lets him know she won’t let him push her around.

The sexual tension sizzles, and both Kali and Damion try to keep their attraction in check. Kali doesn’t want to give gossip to the rumor mill, and the thought of sleeping with her boss doesn’t sit well with her. Try as she might, though, she can’t deny that all she wants to do is rip off his clothes and play out every naughty daydream she’s entertained, with Damion taking center stage. The push and pull between them is occasionally maddening, but Jones draws you right into Kali’s head, so you know exactly what she’s thinking and exactly what she wants.

In addition to fending off her blazing desire for Damion, Kali finds herself in the middle of a suspected embezzling case. Something fishy is going on at the casinos Damion’s in charge of, and Kali’s first hint that something’s very wrong in Damion’s kingdom includes being locking in a hotel room for most of the day with no contact with the outside world. She’s pissed about her treatment during the casino lockdown, and who can blame her? Her introduction to her employment at the casinos totally sucked. Her first encounter with HR had her wasting most of the day while the indifferent staff ignored her, and then, BAM! solitary confinement. Not a great start to her new job, and not a great start to her new life!

The resolution of the corporate intrigue felt a bit rushed, as did Kali’s offer to expose Damion’s misdeeds and write an expose on the casinos after a chance meeting with a former employee. Despite these quibbles, Play with Me is an entertaining read featuring a demanding man who gets what he wants, and an equally forceful woman who knows what she wants. Part of the story takes place during Thanksgiving, but I didn’t find the holiday flavor very strong, so if you were avoiding Play with Me because you don’t like holiday themed stories, you won’t have an issue here.

Grade: B

Review copy provided by publisher

From Amazon:

Don’t forget to catch these other exciting stories in HEATING UP THE HOLIDAYS!

Jenny Wright can’t get enough of her erotic conversations with someone she knows only as “C.” Flirting online helps Jenny temporarily escape confronting the changes to her life as she slowly loses her vision. Jenny’s occupational therapist, Evan Carlisle-Ford, is helping her prepare for the challenges ahead, but the forthright, trustworthy man can no longer ignore his growing attraction to his fiercely intelligent client. Now Jenny must choose between the safe, anonymous “C”—or the flesh-and-blood Evan, whose heated kisses can melt snow faster than it can fall.

The clock is ticking down to midnight on New Year’s Eve, and all Nora Hart and Miles Shephard can think about is kissing each other—even though they met just minutes before. Then, as fast as Miles enters Nora’s life, he’s gone . . . and she never even gets the name of the man she thinks might just be “the one.” One year later, Nora and Miles are reunited. The chemistry between them is just as strong as they remember. But Miles broke her heart once before—and this time around, Nora’s not sure whether she can give love a second chance.